Method and system for reduction of unwanted gases in indoor air

ABSTRACT

An air treatment system for at least partially removing at least one gaseous contaminant contained in indoor air of a room structured for human occupants. The system may comprise an air treatment assembly having an indoor air inlet configured to receive indoor airflow directly from a room, a regenerable adsorbent material configured to adsorb at least one gaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow, at least one airflow element for directing the indoor airflow to flow through the air treatment assembly, an indoor air outlet for expelling the indoor air, from the air treatment assembly back into the room, a purge air inlet configured to receive and direct purge air over and/or through the adsorbent material for removal of at least a portion of the at least one gaseous contaminant, and a purge air outlet for expelling the purge air out of the air treatment assembly.

This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage entry ofPCT/US2013/070383, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/727,022, filed Nov. 15, 2012, entitled “Method andSystem for to Reduction of Substances in Indoor Air”, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatuses,systems and methods for reducing unwanted gases from indoor air.

BACKGROUND

Indoor air within and around enclosed environments, such as buildings,vehicles and structures, is affected by a plurality of substancescomprising contaminants. Among these contaminants, often with thehighest concentration, is carbon dioxide (CO₂). There are othercontaminants which may appear in relatively lower concentrations yet areno less important to monitor and/or reduce. A class of such contaminantsis a group of species of organic vapors, broadly referred to as VolatileOrganic Compounds (VOC). Contaminate gases (e.g., CO₂) and VOCs, andcorresponding vapors thereof, may collectively be referred to as a“gas(es)”. The sources of these contaminants include, inter alia, thehuman occupants themselves—from respiration and perspiration to clothingand cosmetics—as well as building materials, equipment, food andconsumer products, cleaning materials, office supplies or any othermaterials which emit VOCs. Other classes of contaminants are inorganiccompounds and microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi andairborne particles. Additional gaseous contaminants may be sulfuroxides, nitrous oxides, radon, or carbon monoxide.

SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, systems andmethods are described for maintaining good air quality in an enclosedenvironment. According to some embodiments, the good air quality may bemaintained by an air treatment system configured for maintaining atleast one gaseous contaminant concentration contained in indoor air ofthe enclosed environment below a predetermined gaseous contaminantconcentration.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there isdescribed an air treatment system for at least partially removing atleast one gaseous contaminant contained and/or unwanted gases in indoorair of a room structured for human occupants. The system may comprise anair treatment assembly having an indoor air inlet configured to receiveindoor airflow directly from a room, the indoor air inlet may be placedwithin the room, a regenerable adsorbent material configured to adsorbat least one gaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow, atleast one airflow element for directing the indoor airflow to flowthrough the air treatment assembly, an indoor air outlet for expellingthe indoor air, treated by the adsorbent material, from the airtreatment assembly back into the room, the indoor air outlet may beplaced within the room, a purge air inlet configured to receive anddirect purge air over and/or through the adsorbent material for removalof at least a portion of the at least one gaseous contaminant adsorbedby the adsorbent material, and a purge air outlet for expelling thepurge air out of the air treatment assembly, the air treatment systemmay be configured to operate cyclically in at least in two modes,including an adsorption mode to adsorb the at least one gaseouscontaminant by the adsorbent material, and a regeneration mode toregenerate the adsorbent material by the removal of at least a portionof the at least one gaseous contaminant adsorbed by the adsorbentmaterial, and a controller system for controlling at least the cyclicoperation of the adsorption mode and the regeneration mode bycontrolling the airflow element.

According to some embodiments, the system may further comprise one ormore sensors for measuring the concentration of the at least one gaseouscontaminant and/or detecting the presence of the at least one gaseouscontaminant, wherein the one or more sensors may be configured togenerate a signal corresponding to a concentration of the at least onegaseous contaminant and/or the presence of the at least one gaseouscontaminant, and transmit the signal to the controller system.

According to some embodiments, the airflow element may comprise at leastone of a fan, a blower, a damper, and a shutter. According to someembodiments, the air treatment assembly may be configured as a portableunit. According to some embodiments, the air treatment assembly mayinclude one or more wheels and/or castors for transporting the airtreatment assembly. According to some embodiments, the air treatmentassembly may be configured for installation in a window or an exteriorwall of the room. According to some embodiments, the air treatmentassembly may be configured for placement on or proximate the floor ofthe room.

According to some embodiments, the system may further comprise one ormore flexible and/or collapsible conduits configured to direct purge airto the air treatment assembly to flow over and/or through the adsorbentmaterial and/or expel the purge air from the air treatment assembly viathe purge air outlet to outside the room. According to some embodiments,the purge air may be directly or indirectly heated by at least one of, aheat pump, a furnace, solar heat, an electrical coil, and hot water.According to some embodiments, the at least one gaseous contaminant maybe selected from the group consisting of: carbon dioxide, volatileorganic compounds, sulfur oxides, radon, nitrous oxides and carbonmonoxide. According to some embodiments, the adsorbent materialcomprises at least one of: activated carbon, carbon particles, solidsupported amine, molecular sieves, porous silica, porous alumina, carbonfibers, metal organic frameworks, porous polymers and polymer fibers.

According to some embodiments, the system may further comprise at leastone cartridge wherein the adsorbent material is arranged therein,wherein the air treatment assembly is configured to access the cartridgewhile the air treatment assembly remains stationary. According to someembodiments, the room is in a building and the purge air may compriseoutdoor air from out of the building and the purge air inlet may beplaced out of the building with access to the purge air. According tosome embodiments, the removal of the at least one gaseous contaminantadsorbed by the adsorbent material regenerates the adsorbent materialand is performed in-situ the adsorbent material without removing theadsorbent material from the air treatment system.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there isdescribed an air treatment system for at least partially removing atleast one gaseous contaminant contained in indoor air of an enclosedenvironment, the system comprising an air treatment assembly having anindoor air inlet configured to receive indoor airflow from the enclosedenvironment, a regenerable adsorbent material configured to adsorb atleast one gaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow, at leastone airflow element for directing the indoor airflow to flow through theair treatment assembly, an indoor air outlet for expelling the indoorairflow, treated by the adsorbent material, from the air treatmentassembly back into the enclosed environment, a purge air inletconfigured to receive and direct purge air over and/or through theadsorbent material for removal of at least a portion of the at least onegaseous contaminant adsorbed by the adsorbent material, a purge airoutlet for expelling the purge air out of the air treatment assembly,the air treatment system may be configured to operate cyclically in atleast two modes, an adsorption mode to adsorb the at least one gaseouscontaminant by the adsorbent material, and a regeneration mode toregenerate the adsorbent material by the removal of at least a portionof the at least one gaseous contaminant adsorbed by the adsorbentmaterial, and a controller system for controlling at least the cyclicoperation of the adsorption mode and the regeneration mode cycle bycontrolling the at least one airflow element, wherein the air treatmentassembly may be configured to remove at least the portion of the atleast one gaseous contaminant from the enclosed environment.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment may lack a controlledsupply of outdoor air ventilation.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there isdescribed a method for at least partially removing at least one gaseouscontaminant contained in indoor air of an enclosed environment, themethod may comprise receiving indoor airflow from an enclosedenvironment through an indoor air inlet, directing the indoor airflow byat least one airflow element to flow through a regenerable adsorbentmaterial, adsorbing, during an adsorption mode, at least one gaseouscontaminant contained in the indoor airflow by the regenerable adsorbentmaterial, expelling the indoor airflow, treated by the adsorbentmaterial back into the enclosed environment, receiving and directing,during a regeneration mode, purge air over and/or through the adsorbentmaterial for removal of at least a portion of the at least one gaseouscontaminant adsorbed by the adsorbent material, expelling the purge airout of the adsorbent material, and controlling at least an operation ofthe adsorption mode and the regeneration mode by controlling at leastone airflow element.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there isdescribed an air treatment system for limiting the concentration of atleast one gaseous contaminant contained in indoor air of an enclosedenvironment, below a predetermined concentration. The system maycomprise an air treatment assembly having an indoor air inlet configuredto receive at least a portion of an indoor airflow from an enclosedenvironment, a regenerable adsorbent material configured to adsorb atleast one gaseous contaminant contained in the portion of the indoorairflow, an airflow element for directing the portion of the indoorairflow from the enclosed environment to the air treatment assembly, anindoor air outlet for expelling the portion of indoor airflow treated bythe adsorbent material from the air treatment assembly for flow backinto the enclosed environment, a purge air inlet configured to receiveand direct purge air over and/or through the adsorbent material forremoval of at least a portion of the at least one gaseous contaminantadsorbed by the adsorbent material, and a purge air outlet for expellingthe purge air out of the air treatment assembly. The air treatmentassembly may be configured to limit the gaseous contaminantconcentration of the indoor air below a predetermined concentrationaccording to any and all of the following configurations: upon outdoorair ventilation of the enclosed environment being insufficient formaintaining the least one gaseous contaminant concentration below thepredetermined concentration, the indoor air being conditioned by an airconditioning system independent from the air treatment assembly, theconditioning comprising changing at least one of the temperature andhumidity of the indoor air, the air conditioning system comprisingcomponents for circulating the indoor air, or the indoor air is notconditioned by an air conditioning system.

In some embodiments, the gaseous contaminant may be carbon dioxide andthe predetermined concentration contained in indoor air is about 2000ppm. In some embodiments, the gaseous contaminant may be carbon dioxideand the insufficiency of outdoor air ventilation may occur upon theenclosed environment containing a human density effecting a carbondioxide concentration in the indoor air above about 2000 ppm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The principals and operations of the systems, apparatuses and methodsaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be betterunderstood with reference to the drawings, and the followingdescription. These drawings are given for illustrative purposes only andare not meant to be limiting.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.1A) and a second operational mode (FIG. 1B) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.2A) and a second operational mode (FIG. 2B) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.3A) and a second operational mode (FIG. 3B) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.4A) and a second operational mode (FIG. 4B) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.5A) and a second operational mode (FIG. 5B) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a simplified schematic illustration of a system for reducingunwanted gases in indoor air according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic illustration of a system for reducingunwanted gases in indoor air according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, respectively; and

FIG. 8 is a simplified schematic illustration of a system for reducingunwanted gases in indoor air according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A and 1B are simplified schematic illustrations of a system 100for reducing unwanted gases in indoor air of an enclosed environment 102at a first operational mode and a second operational mode according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively.

The enclosed environment 102 may comprise a commercial environment orbuilding; an office building; a residential environment or building; ahouse; a school; a factory; a hospital; a store; a mall; an indoorentertainment venue; a storage facility; a laboratory; a vehicle; avessel including an aircraft, a ship, a sea vessel or the cabin of a seavessel; a bus; a theatre; a partially and/or fully enclosed arena; atent; an education facility; a library; and/or other partially and/orfully enclosed structure and/or facility which can be at times occupiedby equipment, materials, live occupants (e.g., humans, animals,synthetic organisms, etc.), etc., and/or any combination thereof.

According to some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprisea plurality of indoor spaces such as rooms, cubicles, zones in abuilding, compartments, railroad cars, caravans or trailers, forexample, and may be referred to as “indoor spaces”.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an air treatment assembly110 may be provided to reduce the concentration of contaminantscontained in the airflow introduced therein, thereby removing from theenclosed environment 102 the unwanted gases containing the contaminants.The airflow may be indoor air 114 from the enclosed environment 102.

The air treatment assembly 110 may comprise a housing 112. The indoorair 114 may flow into the housing 112 of the air treatment assembly 110,via an indoor air inlet 120 and may exit the air treatment assembly 110following treatment therein, via an indoor air outlet 124. An indoor airinlet damper 128 may be provided to control the volume of incomingindoor air 114. An indoor air outlet damper 130 may be provided tocontrol the volume of the treated indoor airflow, expelled from the airtreatment assembly 110, into the enclosed environment 102.

Within housing 112 there may be provided a CO₂ sorbent section 140configured to scrub CO₂ from the indoor air 114 and/or a VOC sorbentsection 142 configured to scrub VOCs from the indoor air 114. Thesorbents including adsorbent materials may also be considered andreferred to as scrubbers. Examples of adsorbent material based scrubbersare disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,157,892 and 8,491,710,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thescrubbers may comprise any suitable material for capturing undesiredcontaminants from the indoor air 114 flowing therein. For example, thescrubber may comprise an adsorbent material including a solid support,supporting an amine-based compound, such as disclosed in applicant's PCTapplication PCT/US12/38343, which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Adsorbent materials may also include, but are not limited to, clays,molecular sieves, zeolites, various forms of silica and alumina, poroussilica, porous alumina, various forms of carbon, activated carbon,carbon fibers, carbon particles, titanium oxide, porous polymers,polymer fibers and metal organic frameworks.

Adsorbent materials selective to VOCs may also include, but are notlimited to molecular sieves, activated carbon, zeolites, carbon fibersand carbon particles, for example.

In some embodiments more than one type of adsorbent material is used.

The CO₂ adsorbent section 140 may include a plurality of CO₂ scrubbingcartridges 146 arranged in any suitable arrangement. For example, theCO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146 may be arranges as parallel plates and/orarranged in a staggered, v-bank formation. This staggered arrangementallows substantially parallel airflow paths of the indoor air 114through the plurality of the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146.

The VOC sorbent section 142 may include one or more VOC scrubbingcartridges 148 arranged in any suitable arrangement. For example, theVOC scrubbing cartridges 148 may be arranges as parallel plates and/orarranged in a staggered, v-bank formation. This staggered arrangementallows substantially parallel airflow paths of the indoor air 114through the plurality of the VOC scrubbing cartridges 148. In someembodiments the VOC scrubbing cartridge 148 has a pleated or otherwisefolded configuration to increase the surface area thereof.

Exemplary scrubbing cartridges and modules are disclosed in applicant'sUS Patent Publication No. 20110198055, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Additional air treatment functionalities may be employed for removingother contaminates from the indoor air 114, shown in a dashed line. Insome embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may comprise any thinpermeable sheet structure, carbon fibers and/or particles attached to asheet of some other permeable material such as paper, cloth or finemesh, for example, and shown as a filter 156.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may includecatalysts that cause change or decomposition of certain molecules, suchas, for example, VOCs or ozone. Such catalysts may include, but are notlimited to, any of a number of metal oxides or porous heavy metals. Insome embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may include plasma orionizers that generate ions, which in turn can serve to eliminate VOCsor microorganisms. Similarly, ultraviolet radiation can be employed todestroy microorganisms or activate certain catalytic processes.

Operation of the air treatment assembly 110 may comprise an adsorptioncycle, i.e. an adsorption mode (also known as a scrub cycle), as shownin FIG. 1A, and a regeneration mode (also known as a purge cycle orpurge mode), as shown in FIG. 1B. The operation of the air treatmentassembly 110 may be cyclic by alternating between the adsorption mode,the regeneration mode and/or any other mode, repeatedly.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured toadsorb the contaminants during the adsorption cycle and the adsorbentmaterial may be regenerated during the regeneration cycle. The airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured to repeatedly alternate atleast between the adsorption cycle and the regeneration cycle.

During the scrub cycle (FIG. 1A), the contaminants are captured andadsorbed by the adsorbent material or any other means. A portion of theindoor air 114, may be urged by an airflow element provided fordirecting the indoor air to flow into the air treatment assembly 110.The airflow element may comprise, for example, a fan 158 or a blower.The indoor air 114 may flow into the air treatment assembly 110, viaindoor air inlet 120 and air inlet damper 128, when positioned at leastpartially in an open state. The indoor air inlet 120 may be formed witha grille.

The fan 158 may be placed in any suitable location within the housing112, such as upstream in a “push” mode, i.e. intermediate the indoor airinlet 120 and CO₂ adsorbent section 140. Alternatively, as seen in FIG.1A, the fan 158 may be placed downstream in a “pull” mode i.e. after theCO₂ adsorbent section 140.

The rate and/or volume of the indoor air 114 flowing into the airtreatment assembly 110 may be controlled by the fan 140 and/or air inletdamper 128, or by any other suitable means.

In some embodiments a portion of a volume of the indoor air 114 may bedirected into the air treatment assembly 110 for treatment thereof. Thevolume of the indoor air 114 may comprise a reference volume which mayinclude the overall volume of the indoor air within the enclosedenvironment 102 or the indoor spaces therein. In a non-limiting example,when the enclosed environment 102 is a room (e.g. a classroom, a lecturehall), the reference air volume is the overall volume of the indoor airwithin the room.

In some embodiments, about 1%-50% of the indoor air reference volume maybe directed into the air treatment assembly 110 during a predeterminedtime period (e.g. an hour, day etc.). In some embodiments, about 1%-25%of the indoor air reference volume may enter the air treatment assembly110 during a predetermined time period. In some embodiments, about1%-10% of the indoor air reference volume may enter the air treatmentassembly 110 during a predetermined time period.

The indoor air 114 may flow through the filter 156, CO₂ adsorbentsection 140 and/or the VOC adsorbent section 142. The now scrubbed airmay flow out of the air treatment assembly 110 via the indoor air outlet124 and indoor air outlet damper 130, when positioned, at leastpartially, in an open state. The indoor air outlet 124 may be formedwith a grille.

The treated air exiting the air treatment assembly 110 may be expelledinto the enclosed environment 102.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured to operate independently, i.e.without association with an air management system or disconnectedly froman air management system. An air management system may comprise a systemwhich circulates indoor air and conditions indoor air. Conditioningindoor air may comprise changing the temperature and/or humidity of theindoor air. The air management system may comprise an air conditioningsystem, such as a Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (“HVAC”)system which may include a centralized air conditioning system, afan-coil system, and/or a unit-ventilator system. The centralized airconditioning system generally includes ductwork for flow of the indoorair therein to an air handling unit which conditions the air therein.The conditioned air flows out of the air handling unit to the enclosedenvironment, thereby circulating the indoor air. The fan-coil systemgenerally includes a fan-coil unit comprising a fan for drawing theindoor air and heating and cooling coils for conditioning the air andreturning the conditioned air to the enclosed environment, therebycirculating the indoor air. The air conditioning system may alsocomprise fresh air ducts for introducing fresh, unconditioned air intothe enclosed environment. The air conditioning system may also compriseair exhaust ducts for exhausting air out of the enclosed environment formaintaining the pressure equilibrium within the enclosed environment.

According to some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 of thepresent disclosure is configured to direct the indoor air thereinwithout being dependent on the ducts and/or fans of the air managementsystem. Thus the air treatment assembly 110 may operate in an enclosedenvironment that is not equipped with an air management system. The airtreatment assembly 110 may also operate in an enclosed environment thatis equipped with an air management system, yet the air treatmentassembly 110 operates independently and discontentedly from the airmanagement system.

The air treatment assembly 110 is formed with its fan, such as fan 158and its inlets and outlets, such as indoor air inlet 120 and indoor airoutlet 124 for operation thereof independently of an air managementsystem. In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 comprisesits controller 254 for controlling the operation of the air treatmentassembly 110, as will be further described.

Treating the indoor air 114 within the air treatment assembly 110 byscrubbing the contaminants therefrom may be greatly advantageous formaintaining good air quality.

In some embodiments, good air quality may include air with a CO₂concentration of less than 2500 ppm. In some embodiments, good airquality may include air with a CO₂ concentration of less than 2000 ppm.In some embodiments, good air quality may include air with a CO₂concentration of less than 1500 ppm. In some embodiments, good airquality may include air with a CO₂ concentration of less than 1000 ppm.

Following the capture and scrubbing of the contaminants in theadsorption cycle, the adsorbent material may be regenerated during theregeneration cycle by urging the release of the contaminants from theadsorbent material.

The regeneration may be performed in any suitable manner. For example,in some embodiments, regeneration may be performed by streaming a purgegas 160 (FIG. 1B) over and/or through the adsorbent material for releaseof at least a portion of the contaminants therefrom. In someembodiments, the purge gas 160 may be exhausted out of the enclosedenvironment 102. During the regeneration cycle, the purge gas 160 mayflow into the air treatment assembly 110, via a purge gas inlet 170,such as a purge air inlet. The purge gas inlet 170 may be associatedwith a purge gas inlet damper 176. The purge gas 160 may flow into theair treatment assembly 110 when the damper 176 is positioned, at leastpartially, in an open state, while the air inlet damper 128 and airoutlet damper 130 may be closed. An additional fan 178 may be providedfor urging flow of the purge gas 160 into the air treatment assembly110. The fan 178 may be placed in any suitable location, such as inproximity to a purge gas exhaust 180. Alternatively, the fan 178 may beomitted, such as when fan 158 may be used for directing the purge gas160 into the air treatment assembly 110. The purge gas 160 may exit fromthe air treatment assembly 110, via purge gas exhaust 180 and a purgegas exhaust damper 182. The purge gas exhaust 180 may comprise a purgeair outlet for expelling the purge gas 160 out of the air treatmentassembly.

Purge gas inlet damper 176 may be provided to control the volume of thepurge gas 160 entering the air treatment assembly 110 and purge gasexhaust damper 182 may be provided to control the volume of the purgegas 160 exiting therefrom.

Thus, in some embodiments, it is seen that switching the air treatmentassembly 110 operation from the adsorption cycle to the regenerationcycle may be performed by the dampers and/or fans or any other suitablemeans.

In accordance with some embodiments the purge gas 160 comprises purgeair.

The purge air may be provided to the air treatment assembly 110 from anysource of air, such as outdoor air. For example, the source of outdoorair may be ambient air flowing directly from the outdoor ambient, i.e.outside the enclosed environment 102, into the air treatment assembly110, as shown in FIGS. 1A-5B. Alternatively, the outdoor air may flowfrom the ambient environment into the air treatment assembly 110 viaducts (not shown). Additionally, the source of outdoor air may be fromother locations in the enclosed environment 102, such as from anenclosed environment pier.

In some embodiments, in-situ regeneration, namely without having to movethe adsorbent material out of the air treatment assembly 110, or partsof the air treatment assembly 110, can be facilitated by a combinationof heat and a flow of a purge gas 160, which may be outdoor air, forexample. In a non-limiting example, the outdoor air contains a CO₂concentration of less than 1000 ppm. In a non-limiting example, theoutdoor air contains a CO₂ concentration of less than 600 ppm. In anon-limiting example, the outdoor air contains a CO₂ concentration ofless than 400 ppm.

In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may flow during the regenerationcycle in the opposite direction of the indoor air flow during theadsorption cycle, such as from purge gas inlet 170 to the purge gasexhaust 180, such as shown in FIGS. 1A-8. Alternatively, the purge gas160 may flow during the regeneration cycle in the same direction of thereturn airflow, such as from purge gas exhaust 180 to purge gas inlet170.

In some embodiments, purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 maybe formed as a conduit or duct, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, or in anyother suitable manner. In other embodiments, the purge gas inlet 170 andpurge gas exhaust 180 may be formed as apertures allowing the purge gas160 to flow therethrough, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 exiting the purge gas exhaust 180may be discharged into the ambient environment outside the enclosedenvironment 102. In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may flow out ofthe purge gas exhaust 180 to existing exhaust ducts in the enclosedenvironment 102, such as an air exhaust, typically furnished in abathroom of the enclosed environment 102 or openings such as windows.Additionally, purge gas 160 exiting the purge gas exhaust 180 may flowto a volume in the enclosed environment 102, such as a stairwell,sewerage system or smoke control system. Moreover, purge gas 160 may bedirected to flow into a pressure vessel (not shown) for eventual releaseof the purge gas 160 therefrom.

The purge gas 160 may be heated prior to regeneration of the airtreatment assembly 110 by any suitable heating element 190. The heatingelement 190 may comprise, for example, a coil such as an electricalcoil, a radiator, a heat pump, a solar heater or an appropriately sizedfurnace burning water, gas or other fuel (not shown) for heating thepurge gas 160. In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may be heatedwithin the air treatment assembly 110. In some embodiments, the purgegas 160 may be heated prior to flow into the air treatment assembly 110.

In accordance with some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may be heated toa temperature within a range of about 20-120° C. In accordance with someembodiments, the purge gas 160 may be heated to a temperature of lessthan 80° C. In accordance with some embodiments, the purge gas 160 maybe heated to a temperature of less than 50° C. In accordance with someembodiments, the purge gas 160 may enter the air treatment assembly 110at the ambient temperature of the ambient environment outside theenclosed environment 102.

Regeneration of the adsorbent material removes the contaminants from theadsorbent material. Therefore, the air treatment assembly 110 can berepeatedly used for removing contaminants from the enclosed environment102 without requiring replacement of the adsorbent material.Accordingly, the air treatment assembly 110 has a significantly longoperating life. In a non-limiting example, the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges146 and/or VOC scrubbing cartridges 148 may operate for about a year,two years or three years, due to the regenerability thereof by the purgegas 160. In a non-limiting example, the air treatment assembly 110 mayoperate for 10-20 years. If necessary, the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146and/or VOC scrubbing cartridges 148 may be replaced as will be furtherdescribed.

In some embodiments after the significantly long operating life, theadsorbent materials may chemically or physically deteriorate.Accordingly, the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146 or VOC scrubbingcartridges 148 may be configured to be removable from the air treatmentassembly 110. The removed scrubbing cartridges may be restored orreplaced with operating scrubbing cartridges and may be returned to theair treatment assembly 110. The housing 112 may comprise access doors192 allowing easy accessibility to any one of the CO₂ scrubbingcartridges 146 or VOC scrubbing cartridges 148. The access doors 192 maybe placed at any suitable location within the housing 112.

The air treatment assembly 110 may be placed in any suitable locationwithin the enclosed environment 102. In accordance with some embodimentsof the present disclosure, the air treatment assembly 110 may treat theindoor air 114 independently of an air conditioning system. Accordingly,the air treatment assembly 110 may be located within the enclosedenvironment 102 at any convenient location wherein there is access topurge gas 160. Some exemplary locations for placement of the airtreatment assembly 110 within the enclosed environment 102 are shown inFIGS. 1A-8.

As seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted under a ceiling 200 within the enclosed environment 102 and maybe affixed thereto by any suitable means.

The purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed in anysuitable manner for allowing the purge gas 160, such as outdoor air, toflow in to purge gas inlet 170 and out of purge gas exhaust 180. Theaccess to outdoor air may be by any suitable means, such as by providingconduits, such as flexible conduits, in contact with a source of outdoorair in the ambient environment 204. In some embodiments, the contactwith the source of outdoor air may be provided by utilizing outdoor airaccesses existing in the enclosed environment 102, such as a window 206.In some embodiments, purge outdoor air access may be from a vent, or anenclosed environment pier. In some embodiments, the purge gas exhaust180 may expel the purge gas 160 (i.e. the purge air) from the airtreatment assembly 110, via window 206 as shown in FIG. 1B, and thereoutinto the ambient environment 204. In some embodiments, the purge gas 160may be expelled from the air treatment assembly 110 to a bathroom in theenclosed environment, or any other location and thereout into theambient environment 204.

In FIGS. 2A and 2B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted to awall 208 of the enclosed environment 102, wherein a portion of the airtreatment assembly 110 may be placed in the enclosed environment 102 anda portion may protrude into the ambient environment 204. In someembodiments the wall 208 may be an exterior wall where one side of thewall is in the enclosed environment 102 and the other side of the wallis in the ambient environment 204. As seen in FIG. 2A, during theadsorption cycle, the indoor air 114 may enter the air treatmentassembly 110 via the indoor air inlet 120 and damper 128, and may flowthrough filter 156, CO₂ sorbent section 140 and/or the VOC sorbentsection 142 and out the air treatment assembly 110, via indoor airoutlet 124 and damper 130 back into the enclosed environment 102.

As seen in FIG. 2B, during the regeneration cycle, the regeneratingoutdoor air of the purge gas 160 may enter the air treatment assembly110 from the ambient environment 204, via purge gas inlet 170, and maybe heated by the heating element 190. The purge gas 160 may flow throughVOC sorbent section 142, the CO₂ sorbent section 140, and/or filter 156for contaminant removal therefrom. The purge gas 160 exits the airtreatment assembly 110, via purge gas exhaust 180, to the ambientenvironment 204. A damper set 212 may be provided, similar to dampers176 and 182 in FIG. 1B.

As seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted to wall 208 within the enclosed environment 102 and may beaffixed thereto by any suitable means.

The purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed in anysuitable manner for allowing the purge gas, such as outdoor air, to flowinto purge gas inlet 170 and out of purge gas exhaust 180. As seen inFIGS. 2A and 2B, the air treatment assembly 110 is partially placed inthe ambient environment 204 and therefore there is easy access toregenerating outdoor air which can readily enter the purge gas inlet 170and exit the purge gas exhaust 180.

In FIGS. 3A and 3B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted inproximity to a floor 220 or on the floor 220 of the enclosed environment102, wherein the air treatment assembly 110 is placed in the enclosedenvironment 102. As seen in FIG. 3A, during the adsorption cycle, theindoor air 114 may enter the air treatment assembly 110 via indoor airinlet 120 and damper 128 and may flow through filter 156, CO₂ sorbentsection 140 and/or the VOC sorbent section 142 and out the air treatmentassembly 110 via indoor air outlet 124 back into the enclosedenvironment 102.

As seen in FIG. 3B, during the regeneration cycle, the outdoor air ofthe purge gas 160 enters the air treatment assembly 110 from the ambient204, via purge gas inlet 170 and may be heated by heating element 190. Aportion of the air treatment assembly 110 may protrude from wall 208 orany other location allowing outdoor air to flow therein. The purge gas160 may flow through VOC sorbent section 142, the CO₂ sorbent section140, and/or through filter 156 for contaminant removal therefrom. Thepurge gas 160 exits the air treatment assembly 110, via the purge gasexhaust 180 and damper set 212 to the ambient environment 204.

As seen in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted in proximity to a floor 220 or on the floor 220 within theenclosed environment 102 and may be affixed to the floor 220 by anysuitable means, such as via an attachment means 222 attaching the airtreatment assembly 110 to the floor 220.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be placed on thefloor 220 distally from wall 208 and access to regenerating outdoor air160 may be achieved in any suitable manner, such as via conduits placedat a window, for example.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted tothe wall 208 of the enclosed environment 102 and may be at a distancefrom the floor 220 (FIG. 3A) or ceiling 200 (FIG. 1A). As seen in FIG.4A, during the adsorption cycle, the indoor air 114 may enter the airtreatment assembly 110 via the indoor air inlet 120 and damper 128 andmay flow through filter 156, CO₂ sorbent section 140 and/or the VOCsorbent section 142 and out the air treatment assembly 110, via indoorair outlet 124 and damper 130 back into the enclosed environment 102.

As seen in FIG. 4B, during the regeneration cycle, the outdoor air ofthe purge gas 160 enters the air treatment assembly 110 from the ambientenvironment 204 via purge gas inlet 170 and damper 176 and may be heatedby heating element 190, placed within purge gas inlet 170. The purge gas160 may flow through VOC sorbent section 142, the CO₂ sorbent section140, and/or filter 156 for contaminant removal therefrom. The purge gas160 may exit the air treatment assembly 110, via the purge gas exhaust180 and damper 182 to the ambient environment 204.

As seen in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted to wall 208 at any location thereon within the enclosedenvironment 102 and may be affixed thereto by any suitable means, suchas via an attachment means 226 attaching the air treatment assembly 110to the wall 208.

The purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed in anysuitable manner for allowing the purge gas, such as outdoor air, to flowinto purge gas inlet 170 and out of purge gas exhaust 180. As seen inFIGS. 4A and 4B, wall 208 may be formed with bores 224 for inserting thepurge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 therethrough for allowinga portion of the purge gas inlet 170 and/or purge gas exhaust 180 easyaccess to regenerating outdoor air.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted inwindow 206 of the enclosed environment 102, wherein a portion of the airtreatment assembly 110 is placed in the enclosed environment 102 and aportion is placed in the ambient environment 204. As seen in FIG. 5A,during the adsorption cycle, the indoor air 114 may enter the airtreatment assembly 110, via the indoor air inlet 120 and damper 128, andmay flow through filter 156, CO₂ sorbent section 140 and/or the VOCsorbent section 142 and out the air treatment assembly 110, via indoorair outlet 124 and damper 130, back into the enclosed environment 102.

As seen in FIG. 5B, during the regeneration cycle, the outdoor air ofthe purge gas 160 enters the air treatment assembly 110 from the ambient204, via purge gas inlet 170 and may be heated by the heating element190. The purge gas 160 may flow through VOC sorbent section 142, the CO₂sorbent section 140, and/or filter 156 for contaminant removaltherefrom. The purge gas 160 may exit the air treatment assembly 110,via purge gas exhaust 180 and damper set 212 to the ambient environment204.

The air treatment assembly 110 may be inserted within a casing 234. Insome embodiments the casing 234 may be affixed to the window 230 and theair treatment assembly 110 may be removably inserted within the casing234. Weather sealing strips 240 may be provided to seal the enclosedenvironment 102 from the ambient environment 204.

As seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the air treatment assembly 110 may be placedwithin window 206 and may be affixed thereto by any suitable means, suchas via attachment means or by placing the air treatment assembly 110 onthe window sill 244. In this embodiment the air treatment assembly 110may be used to treat the indoor air 114 without altering any structuralcomponent of the enclosed environment 102. Accordingly, the airtreatment assembly 110 may be placed by any laymen in the enclosedenvironment 102 without requiring any mechanical attachments or minimalmechanical attachments which are easily installable.

The purge gas inlet 170 and/or purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed inany suitable manner for allowing the purge gas 160, such as outdoor air,to flow into purge gas inlet 170 and out of purge gas exhaust 180. Asseen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the air treatment assembly 110 is partiallyplaced in the ambient environment 204 and therefore there is easy accessto regenerating outdoor air, which can readily enter the purge gas inlet170 and exit the purge gas exhaust 180.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be portable tofacilitate changing its location with minimal installation work.Portability can be facilitated by any number of means. In someembodiments the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured as aportable unit with wheels or casters to roll easily over floors orsurfaces and facilitate mobility. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, theair treatment assembly 110 may be configured as portable unit 245 placedon a portable base 246 with wheels 248. In some embodiments, the airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured with an electric cord and plugor any other electrical connections 250 suitable for electricalcommunication with indoor electrical wall sockets 252. In someembodiments, the purge gas inlet 170 and/or purge gas exhaust 180 may beformed as flexible or collapsible conduits which may be extended towardsa window, a plenum or any suitable exhaust area for exhausting the purgegas 160 exiting the air treatment assembly 110. The air treatmentassembly 110 of FIG. 6 may operate as describe in any one of theembodiments of FIGS. 1A-5B.

Thus it is seen that according to some embodiments, the air treatmentassembly 110 may be configured to be portable and configured with simpleelectrical connections adapted to easily connect to any standardelectrical sockets and may be also configured for repeated use due tothe regeneration of the adsorbent materials with outdoor air. Theportability of the air treatment assembly 110 allows its use for a shortduration or temporarily, (e.g. an evening, a few days, weeks or months)such as in enclosed environments 102 used for events or in venues.Additionally, the portability of the air treatment assembly 110 allowseasy transfer of the air treatment assembly 110 from one enclosed spaceto another within the enclosed environment 102 or from one enclosedenvironment 102 to another enclosed environment 102.

Thus it is seen that in some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110may be configured to be easily installable in any enclosed environment102 and configured with simple electrical connections adapted to easilyconnect to any standard electrical sockets and may be also configuredfor repeated use due to the regeneration of the adsorbent materials withoutdoor air.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be installed inenclosed environments 102 in addition to an existing air managementsystem within the enclosed environment 102, yet independently from theair management system without any connection to the air managementsystem.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured tobe installed in relatively small areas, such as classrooms of smalloffices, homes and buildings, for example, which are not large enoughfor large scale installations of air-conditioning systems and theductworks which air-conditioning systems typically comprise.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured tobe modular such that more than one air treatment assembly 110 may beinserted in the enclosed environment 102. The number of air treatmentassemblies 110 may be determined according to the contamination level inthe indoor air 114. In some embodiments, a plurality of air treatmentassemblies 110 may be provided, as shown in FIG. 7, within the enclosedenvironment 102 and their operation may be selected according to thecontamination level. For example, when the contamination level is high,all air treatment assemblies 110 may be operated and when thecontamination level is lower, some of the air treatment assemblies 110may discontinue their operation. A controller 254 may be provided tocontrol the operation of the plurality of air treatment assemblies 110.

In some embodiments, controller 254 may be a central controllerconfigured to control the operation of a plurality of air treatmentassemblies 110, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In some embodiments,controller 254 may be configured to control a single air treatmentassembly 110, as shown in FIGS. 1A-6.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprise aplurality of the indoor spaces 255 (e.g. rooms), as shown in FIG. 8, anda single or plurality of air treatment assemblies 110 may be provided.The central controller 254 may be provided to control the operation ofthe plurality of air treatment assemblies 110. The air treatmentassembly 110 of FIGS. 7 and 8 may operate as describe in any one of theembodiments of FIGS. 1A-5B.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprise abuilding with a single or plurality of rooms. The rooms may be humanoccupied. The air treatment assembly 110 may be partially placed withinthe volume of the room where the humans are present and partially placedin the ambient environment 204 out of the building, such as shown inFIGS. 2A-3B, 5A, 5B, 7 and 8. In some embodiments, the air treatmentassembly 110 may be placed within the volume of the room where thehumans are present and may comprise access to the ambient environment204 out of the building, such as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 4A, 4B and 6.The air treatment assembly 110 may be placed in any suitable location inthe volume of the room, such mounted to the ceiling 200, wall 208,placed in proximity or on the floor 220, or in window 206, for example.The indoor air 114 within the room may flow directly, i.e. from thevolume of the room, into the indoor air inlet 120 without first flowingthrough ducts or plenum. The treated air exiting the air treatmentassembly 110 may be expelled back into the volume of the room forproviding the human occupants therein with good quality air.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 lacks a controlledsupply of ventilation outdoor air, such as a machine controlled supplyof ventilation outdoor air. A machine controlled supply of ventilationoutdoor air may comprise the air management system, as described above,wherein the control of fresh air for ventilation, originating from theambient environment 204, is typically controlled, such as by mechanicalcomponents or electrical components. In the absence of such ventilation,indoor air quality is likely to deteriorate over time as gascontaminants build up and may not be removed effectively. The airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured to remove at least the portionof the at least one gaseous contaminant from this enclosed environment102, thereby providing good quality air where there is a lack of supplyof ventilation outdoor air.

It is noted in reference to FIGS. 1A-8, that any other suitable meansbesides dampers, such as valves, fans, blowers, or shutters, may be usedto control the volume of air entering and/or exiting the air treatmentassembly 110 and any components may be used for directing the indoor air114 into the air treatment assembly 110.

In some embodiments of the systems shown in FIGS. 1A-8, a single orplurality of sensors 256 may be provided to detect levels of one or morecontaminants, substances, gases (such as CO₂ and other gases), fumes,vapors, (such as VOCs) and/or any combination thereof. The sensors 256may be placed in any suitable location within the enclosed environment102 or in proximity thereto. Upon detection of a particularconcentration of such contaminants, substances, gases, etc., thesensor(s) 256 may be configured to generate output data that can betransmitted to the control system or controller 254 for processingthereof.

The controller 254 may be operative to control any one or more of: theduration of time the adsorption cycle and the regeneration cycle, thevolume of air flowing into the air treatment assembly 110 for scrubbingthereof, the volume of purge gas flowing into the air treatment assembly110 for regeneration of the adsorbent material, and switching of the airtreatment assembly 110 from the adsorption cycle to the regenerationcycle and vice versa.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 may be designed to control theduration and air volume during the adsorption cycle and the regenerationcycle and switching of the air treatment assembly 110 from theadsorption cycle to the regeneration cycle and vice versa, according toa preset schedule, or by sensing a predetermined level of thecontaminants by the sensors and accordingly operating the adsorptioncycle or regeneration cycle, or by determining an occupancy level of theenclosed environment 102 and, accordingly, operating the adsorptioncycle or regeneration cycle, for example. The duration or volume duringthe adsorption cycle or regeneration cycle and switching therebetweenmay be controlled by a manual trigger or by externally signaled commandsor any other suitable means.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 (i.e. a controller system) maybe provided for controlling at least the cyclic operation of theadsorption mode and the regeneration mode by controlling the at leastone airflow element.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 may be designed to activate theair treatment assembly 110 in response to actual contaminant levels,occupancy, or preset schedules.

In some embodiments the controller 254 may be an electrical controlsystem.

According to some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 of thepresent disclosure is configured to scrub contaminants from indoor airin an enclosed environment 102 which may have insufficient airventilation means, such as inadequate access to ventilation outdoor airfor example. Scrubbing the contaminates from the indoor air 114 of aninsufficiently ventilated enclosed environment 102 provides for good airquality. The air treatment assembly 110 may comprise access toregenerating outdoor air for regenerating the adsorbent material. Sincethe regenerating outdoor air is provided for regenerating the adsorbentmaterial, a relatively small volume of regenerating outdoor air may berequired, less than required for sufficient ventilation of the enclosedenvironment 102, and access to regenerating outdoor air may be limitedto the regeneration cycle time period. Therefore the air treatmentassembly 110 is configured to scrub contaminants from indoor air in theenclosed environment, which may have inadequate access to ventilationoutdoor air.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may contain airventilation means yet due to relatively high human density therein thestandard air ventilation may be insufficient and thus the amount ofindoor contaminants may not be adequately managed by standardventilation. In a non-limiting example, a classroom with high studentdensity may have higher than acceptable levels of CO₂ constituting goodair quality. Scrubbing the contaminates from the indoor air 114 of aninsufficiently ventilated enclosed environment 102 provides for good airquality.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprisesufficient means for standard, outside air ventilation for maintaininggood air quality, yet reducing the contaminates in the indoor air 114within the air treatment assembly 110 allows reducing the volume offresh, outdoor air which is required for maintaining good air qualitywithin the enclosed environment 102. Accordingly, the energy required tocondition (i.e. change the temperature and/or humidity level) theoutdoor air is reduced.

In some embodiments, in an enclosed environment 102 wherein the indoorair 114 is conditioned by radiation and/or other heating (or cooling)methods, it is desired to minimize the introduction of ventilatingoutdoor air, which would require much energy for conditioning theventilating outdoor air. In a non-limiting example, wherein the enclosedenvironment 102 is in a cold climate and heating of the indoor air 114is performed by a radiation heater, a furnace, a gas heater or any othersuitable heating system, it is preferable to minimize introduction ofoutdoor air for ventilation. In accordance with the present disclosure,scrubbing the contaminants within the air treatment assembly 110 ensuresthe good quality of the indoor air is maintained while minimal or novolume of ventilating outdoor air is required.

In some embodiments, reducing the content of contaminants present in theenclosed environment 102 by scrubbing within the air treatment assembly110 is more desirable than outside air ventilation for avoiding orminimizing introduction of potential pollutants and contaminants fromthe outdoor air into the enclosed environment 102.

Various implementations of some of embodiments disclosed, in particularat least some of the processes discussed (or portions thereof), may berealized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially configured ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations, such as associated with the controller254, for example, may include implementation in one or more computerprograms that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmablesystem including at least one programmable processor, which may bespecial or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructionsfrom, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, atleast one input device, and at least one output device.

Such computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions/code for aprogrammable processor, for example, and may be implemented in ahigh-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language,and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term“machine-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., non-transitory mediums including, forexample, magnetic discs, optical disks, flash memory, Programmable LogicDevices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to aprogrammable processor including a machine-readable medium that receivesmachine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term“machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machineinstructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter describedherein may be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., aLCD (liquid crystal display) monitor and the like) for displayinginformation to the user and a keyboard and/or a pointing device (e.g., amouse or a trackball, touchscreen) by which the user may provide inputto the computer. For example, this program can be stored, executed andoperated by the dispensing unit, remote control, PC, laptop,smart-phone, media player or personal data assistant (“PDA”). Otherkinds of devices may be used to provide for interaction with a user aswell. For example, feedback provided to the user may be any form ofsensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactilefeedback), and input from the user may be received in any form,including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Certain embodiments of thesubject matter described herein may be implemented in a computing systemand/or devices that includes a back-end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front-end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usermay interact with an implementation of the subject matter describedherein), or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-endcomponents.

The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or mediumof digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examplesof communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”), a widearea network (“WAN”), and the Internet. The computing system accordingto some such embodiments described above may include clients andservers. A client and server are generally remote from each other andtypically interact through a communication network. The relationship ofclient and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on therespective computers and having a client-server relationship to eachother.

Any and all references to publications or other documents, including butnot limited to, patents, patent applications, articles, webpages, books,etc., presented anywhere in the present application, are hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

Example embodiments of the devices, systems and methods have beendescribed herein. As may be noted elsewhere, these embodiments have beendescribed for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. Otherembodiments are possible and are covered by the disclosure, which willbe apparent from the teachings contained herein. Thus, the breadth andscope of the disclosure should not be limited by any of theabove-described embodiments but should be defined only in accordancewith claims supported by the present disclosure and their equivalents.Moreover, embodiments of the subject disclosure may include methods,systems and devices which may further include any and allelements/features from any other disclosed methods, systems, anddevices, including any and all features corresponding to trans locationcontrol. In other words, features from one and/or another disclosedembodiment may be interchangeable with features from other disclosedembodiments, which, in turn, correspond to yet other embodiments.Furthermore, one or more features/elements of disclosed embodiments maybe removed and still result in patentable subject matter (and thus,resulting in yet more embodiments of the subject disclosure). Alsowithin the scope of some of the embodiments of the present disclosure isthe specific lack of one or more features that may be present in theprior art. In such embodiments, patentable claims may include negativelimitation to indicate such lack of one or more features taught in theprior art in, for example, any one or more of certain disclosedapparatuses, systems, and methods.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air treatment system for limiting aconcentration of at least one gaseous contaminant contained in indoorair of an enclosed environment below a predetermined concentration, thesystem comprising an air treatment assembly having: an indoor air inletconfigured to receive at least a portion of an indoor airflow directlyfrom an enclosed environment without aid from a duct or conduit; aregenerable adsorbent material configured to adsorb at least one gaseouscontaminant contained in the portion of the indoor airflow; an airflowelement for directing the portion of the indoor airflow from theenclosed environment to the air treatment assembly; an indoor air outletfor expelling the portion of indoor airflow treated by the adsorbentmaterial from the air treatment assembly for flow back directly into theenclosed environment without aid from a duct or conduit; a purge airinlet configured to receive and direct purge air over and/or through theadsorbent material for removal of at least a portion of the at least onegaseous contaminant adsorbed by the adsorbent material; and a purge airoutlet for expelling the purge air out of the air treatment assembly,wherein the air treatment assembly is configured to limit the gaseouscontaminant concentration of the indoor air below a predeterminedconcentration according to any and all of the following configurations:upon outdoor air ventilation of the enclosed environment beinginsufficient for maintaining the least one gaseous contaminantconcentration below the predetermined concentration; the indoor airbeing conditioned by an air conditioning system independent from the airtreatment assembly, the conditioning comprising changing at least one ofthe temperature and humidity of the indoor air, the air conditioningsystem comprising components for circulating the indoor air; or theindoor air is not conditioned by an air conditioning system.
 2. An airtreatment system according to claim 1, wherein the gaseous contaminantis carbon dioxide and the predetermined concentration contained inindoor air is about 2000 ppm.
 3. An air treatment system according toclaim 1, wherein the gaseous contaminant is carbon dioxide and theinsufficiency of outdoor air ventilation occurs upon the enclosedenvironment containing a human density effecting a carbon dioxideconcentration in the indoor air above about 2000 ppm.
 4. An airtreatment system according to claim 1, further comprising a controllersystem configured to control operation of the air treatment assembly. 5.An air treatment system according to claim 4, further comprising one ormore sensors for measuring the concentration of the at least one gaseouscontaminant and/or detecting a presence of the at least one gaseouscontaminant, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to: generatea signal corresponding to the concentration of the at least one gaseouscontaminant and/or the presence of the at least one gaseous contaminant,and transmit the signal to the controller system.
 6. An air treatmentsystem according to claim 1, wherein the airflow element comprises atleast one of a fan, a blower, a damper, and a shutter.
 7. An airtreatment system according to claim 1, wherein the air treatmentassembly is configured as a portable unit.
 8. An air treatment systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the air treatment assembly includes one ormore wheels and/or castors for transporting the air treatment assembly.9. An air treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the airtreatment assembly is configured for installation in a window or anexterior wall of the enclosed environment.
 10. An air treatment systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the air treatment assembly is configuredfor placement on or proximate a floor of the enclosed environment. 11.An air treatment system according to claim 1, further comprising one ormore flexible or collapsible conduits configured to: direct purge air tothe air treatment assembly to flow over and/or through the adsorbentmaterial; and/or expel purge air from the air treatment assembly via thepurge air outlet to outside the enclosed environment.
 12. An airtreatment system according to claim 1, wherein the purge air is directlyor indirectly heated by at least one of a heat pump, a furnace, solarheat, an electrical coil, and hot water.
 13. An air treatment systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one gaseous contaminant isselected from the group consisting of: carbon dioxide, volatile organiccompounds, sulfur oxides, radon, nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide. 14.An air treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the adsorbentmaterial comprises at least one of: activated carbon, carbon particles,solid supported amine, molecular sieves, porous silica, porous alumina,carbon fibers, metal organic frameworks, porous polymers and polymerfibers.
 15. An air treatment system according to claim 1, furthercomprising at least one cartridge wherein the adsorbent material isarranged therein, wherein the air treatment assembly is configured toprovide access to the cartridge while the air treatment assembly remainsstationary.
 16. An air treatment system according to claim 1, whereinthe removal of the at least one gaseous contaminant adsorbed by theadsorbent material regenerates the adsorbent material and is performedin-situ the adsorbent material without removing the adsorbent materialfrom the air treatment system.
 17. A method for limiting a concentrationof at least one gaseous contaminant contained in indoor air of anenclosed environment below a predetermined concentration, the methodcomprising: receiving indoor airflow directly from an enclosedenvironment through an indoor air inlet without aid from a duct orconduit; directing the indoor airflow by at least one airflow element toflow through a regenerable adsorbent material; adsorbing at least onegaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow by the regenerableadsorbent material; expelling the indoor airflow, treated by theadsorbent material back directly into the enclosed environment withoutaid from a duct or conduit; receiving and directing purge air overand/or through the adsorbent material for removal of at least a portionof the at least one gaseous contaminant adsorbed by the adsorbentmaterial; and expelling the purge air out of the adsorbent material;wherein the method for limiting a concentration of at least one gaseouscontaminant contained in indoor air of an enclosed environment below apredetermined concentration is configured according to any and all ofthe following configurations: upon outdoor air ventilation of theenclosed environment being insufficient for maintaining the least onegaseous contaminant concentration below the predetermined concentration;the indoor air being conditioned by an air conditioning systemindependent from the air treatment assembly, the conditioning comprisingchanging at least one of the temperature and humidity of the indoor air,the air conditioning system comprising components for circulating theindoor air; or the indoor air is not conditioned by an air conditioningsystem.
 18. A method according to claim 17, further comprisingcontrolling operation of the limiting of the concentration of at leastone gaseous contaminant contained in indoor air by a controlling system.19. A method according to claim 18, further comprising measuring aconcentration of the at least one gaseous contaminant and/or detectingthe presence of the at least one gaseous contaminant via one or moresensors, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to: generate asignal corresponding to the concentration of the at least one gaseouscontaminant and/or the presence of the at least one gaseous contaminant,and transmit the signal to the controller system.
 20. A method accordingto claim 17, wherein the at least one gaseous contaminant is selectedfrom the group consisting of: carbon dioxide, volatile organiccompounds, sulfur oxides, radon, nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide.